What we are studying
Middle School, Earth Science & NWEA Map testing
- County, School and Rules
- School and Virtual Consequences
- School and Virtual Procedures
- Getting to know each other
- Becoming a Digital Citizen
Branches of Earth Science
- Hydrology
- Meteorology
- Oceanography
- Geology
- Astronomy
*Unit ONE-- (HYDROLOGY)*
- Lab Safety
- Scientific Method
- Metric System
Students should be able to answer these questions...
What are the rules, consequences and procedures at Lewis Frasier Middle school?
What are the branches of Earth science and how are they used?
What can I do to be safe in the science lab?
Why is lab safety important?
Why do scientist use the Scientific Method?
What are the steps of the scientific method and how are they used?
What are the units of the metric system?
What are the prefixes of the metric system?
How does the prefix change the number in the metric system?
*Unit 1-Part 1 *(HYDROLOGY)*
- Factors affecting the Water Cycle
- Sun's Energy & relationship to Earth's water
- Rotation vs Revolution
- Direct vs Indirect sunlight
- Earth's Tilt / Seasons
- Natural Resources
- Earth's water & Water Conservation
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How does the location of water on Earth's surface and the conditions of the atmosphere affect its path through stages of the water cycle?
How does the amount of saltwater differ from the amount of freshwater on Earth?
Where does most of the water on earth exist and why?
Does salt water and fresh water move through the same water cycle? If so, how?? If not, why?
How and why does water continually move through the water cycle?
What can we do to conserve our natural resources?
*Unit 1-Part 2 *(HYDROLOGY)*
- Layer's of the Atmosphere (temperature, pressure, composition)
- Earth's tilt on axis (uneven heating of the earth's surface)
- Rotation vs Revolution
- Heating differences of land and water
- Radiation, Conduction, Convection's effect on the Troposphere
- Local Winds (Land Breeze vs Sea Breeze)
- Global Winds (Trades, Westerlies, Polar Easterlies)
- Global Air Masses (Contential Polar, Contential Tropical, Maritime Polar, Maritime Tropical)
- Fronts (Cold, Warm, Stationary, Occluded) effect on weather
- Thunderstorms / Tornadoes / Hurricanes
Students should be able to answer these questions...
Explain how you would compare and contrast Earth's atmospheric layers.
Explain how you would demostrate how energy from the sun transfers heat to air, land, and water at different rates.
Explain how you would create a model showing the interaction betwen unequal heating and rotation of earth that causes local and global winds.
Explain the relationship between air pressure, fronts, and air masses AND how they create weather events.
How does the tilt of the earth affect the seasons and Earth's climate?
How does an ocean affect the weather and climate of adjacent land?
How does the sun's heating of water in the tropics affect climate in the rest of the world?
What happens to water after it evaporates from the oceans and land?
How does the sun's energy cause winds and hurricanes?
*Unit 1-Part 3 *(HYDROLOGY)*
- Oceans Locations
- Composition of the ocean water
- Moisture & evaporation of ocean water
- Subsurface topography (underwater landforms)
- Wind
- Surface and Deep ocean Currents
- Waves
- Introduction of Tides
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How are the geological features that exist on land similar to the geological features on the ocean floor?
How does the location of water on Earth's surface and the conditions of the atmosphere affect its path through stages of the water cycle?
Explain the difference between surface and deep water currents.
What are the causes a
nd effects waves?
How do ocean currents affect climate?
How does the amount of saltwater differ from the amount of freshwater on Earth?
Does salt water and fresh water move through the same water cycle?
*Unit 2*
Human Impact
- Natural Resources
- Human activity and impact on Earth
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How might the conservation and resource strategies used today affect your future? Give examples.
How can land uses be modified so as to minimize erosion?
In what sense is the energy from wind, hydroelectric, coal, and oil really energy from the sun?
Which strategies that your family could use to conserve energy would be easiest and why?
Why is soil considered a nonrenewable resources?
How might it be possible to run out of a renewable resource? Give Examples.
*Unit THREE-Part 1 *(Geology)*
- Earth's Layers
- Composition, Density and temperature of Layers
- Lithosphere
- Continental Drift
- Sea Floor Spread
- Plate Tectonics
- Convergent, Divergent, Transform Boundaries
-
Faults, Volcanoes, Mountains, Earthquake
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How are the Earth's layers alike and different in composition, density and temperature?
What challenges stand in the way of sending explorers to the center of the Earth?
How does the movement of lithospheric plates cause major events on Earth's surface?
What evidence do scientists have that continents were once joined together?
What is the difference between a convergent, divergent and transform boundary?
What are hotspots? What causes a hotspot? How do hotspots effect earth's surface?
What is, where is, and how is the Ring of Fire created?
Why do mountains often occur in ranges thousands of kilometers long and give a example?
What can fossils tell us about movements of the plates in the past? Give two examples of fossil evidence which proves your theory.
*Unit 3--Part 2* (Geology) *
- Rock Composition
- Rock Classification
- Igneous, Metamorphic, Sedimentary
- Fossil Evidence
- Human Impact (mining)
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How are minerals classified?
Why are minerals important to rocks?
How do minerals affect the composition of rocks?
How are rocks formed?
How are rocks classified?
How can rocks change from one type to another?
Is the rock cycle really a cycle? How??
How are fossils and rocks important to eachother?
What can humans do to conserve this natural resource?
*Unit 3--Part 3* (Geology) *
- Types of Mechanical Weathering
- Types of Chemical Weathering
- Agents of Erosion
- Environments of Deposition
- Soil composition
- Human Activities on Earth's surface
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How are weathering, erosion and deposition different? Explain.
What determines how quickly weathering occurs?
Why does one type of rock weather faster than another type of rock?
How does weathering differ from erosion?
How many different kinds of weathering processes are there?
How are erosion and deposition different?
How does the formation of soil relate to the processes of weathering and erosion?
How do human activities affect weathering, erosion and deposition?
How can we prevent our activities from increasing the rate of weathering and erosion on Earth?
*Unit 4--Part 1* (ASTRONOMY)
- Motion of objects in day & night sky
- Relative positions of Earth, Moon & Sun
- Tides
- Tilt of the Earth
- Lunar Eclipses
-
Solar Eclipses
Students should be able to answer these questions...
Why does the moon appear to change shapes?
What is the difference between a first quarter moon and a third quarter moon?
What is the difference between a waxing and waning cresent?
What is the difference between a waxing and waning gibbous?
What is a lunar eclipse?
What is a solar eclipse?
How do lunar and solar eclipses differ?
How are lunar and solar eclipses alike?
Why does the Earth have seasons?
How does the gravitational pull of the moon affect me when I am at the beach?
*Unit 4--Part 2* (ASTRONOMY)
Universe & Solar System
- Historical scientific model (Heliocentric vs Geocentric)
- Milky Way Galaxy
- Solar System
- Planets (Mercury to Neptune)
- Gravity
- Comets, Asteroids & Meteors
Students should be able to answer these questions...
How does the current Heliocentric Model differ from past models?
How does the Earth differ from the other planets?
Why does a star look different if you move from place to place?
What is the order of the planets from the Sun?
How are asteroids and comets different?
Why don't you float off into space when you are on Earth?
Why do planets never leave the solar system or fall into the sun?
What galaxy is our Solar System located?
Put these in order from smallest to largest...
Universe, Solar System, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Page updated July 26, 2021 @ 10:03 pm